1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to safety footwear and, more particularly, to an improved non-metallic toe guard for footwear, to a process for its manufacture, and to footwear incorporating such an improved toe guard.
2. The Prior Art
Toe guards, also known as toe boxes, have been known and in use for a long time. In safety footwear, such as used by firemen, policemen, military men, sportsmen, outdoorsmen, construction workers, electrical workers, and steel workers, as opposed to conventional footwear worn in general, known toe guards typically are formed of a metal, such as steel, as by stamping and/or drawing, or the like. While for many applications, such safety footwear, incorporating metallic toe guards, is satisfactory, it has its inherent drawbacks and limitations. Such drawbacks and limitations include excessive weight causing undue fatigue, high thermal conductivity causing the feet to become too hot or too cold, improper shape causing discomfort, corrosion causing premature aging of the footwear, electrical conduction risks such as are associated with electrical shocks, the detonation of land mines, the distortion or erasure of magnetic representations in data processing memories, and high tooling costs which inhibit custom design. On the other hand, heretofore known non-metallic toe boxes as used in conventional safety footwear simply have lacked the required properties, particularly those involving strength as regards compression and impact resistance.